Joseph Ribkoff Fashion- & Tips for How to Style a Jacket with that Dress

With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, I’ve had my eye out for the perfect Valentine’s Day Dress! I recently came across a beautiful brand of fashion that creates gorgeous formal dresses, party and cocktail dresses, and more!

While the brand is certainly not new but has actually been around since 1957, I’ve found myself eyeballing the exquisite spring collection from Joseph Ribkoff, drooling over one-of-a-kind dresses sure to be the center of attention in the room for whatever event you’ll be attending soon.

For Valentine’s Day, I picked a gorgeous daytime red dress and a very lovely little black dress for evening, bedazzled with some gorgeous eye-catching stones! Check out my looks below:

 

Gorgeous Dresses right? Since it’s still cold most places here in the US around Valentine’s Day, I have found myself often dishing out advice on how to correctly style dresses with jackets- Because one certainly does not fit all! Read on for my tips for styling your dress this V-day, and for the rest of the cold wintery season!

 

How to Style A Jacket/Coat with a Dress:

As a teenager, I had pretty much one jacket or coat I wore all the time with everything. Probably because at that time I had found that piece of outerwear I was totally obsessed with and wanted to wear it all the time, plus as a teenager, funds tend to be low, and I didn’t have much of an outerwear wardrobe or the budget to buy more than a jacket or two for the season.

As we get older, It’s important to realize the necessity of having different styles of jackets and coats to go with different outfits. While a great stylish coat can oftentimes go with everything from your favorite pair of jeans, to that gorgeous hollowed out designer skirt, more often than not, you’re going to need a few different styles to go with a few different looks.

It took me quite a few years to start to develop and eye for what outerwear piece goes with what and following some great fashion advice along the way from some amazing stylists, I feel like I’ve pretty well got the outerwear styling down, especially when it comes to styling with a dress!

 

How to Build Your Outerwear Wardrobe (the Basics) and 3 Tips for Styling Outerwear to Your Outfit:

1. If funds are low and you can only afford one jacket or coat at this time, go with the long Trench coat. This coat is a great light piece and works well for layering in cool weather! It’s a classic piece that will always be in style and because its long (preferably about to the knee) it goes great with everything! Tip: Get it in beige or black to stand the test of time and “Go” with whatever color you’re wearing that day.
2. If you can afford two pieces, go for a shorter jacket (that will hit you at the hip) and the Trench. Go for a classic style in the shorter jacket such as a leather (or faux leather) jacket or denim jacket. These two classics are always in style and very versatile to style like the trench as well. Each goes great with your favorite pair of jeans, a dress, or skirt too.
3. If you can build your outerwear wardrobe – be sure to include jackets and coats in different styles, different lengths, different colors, and of course include some more casual and some more formal pieces for that big night out! I love the classic blazer with jeans!

 

The 5 Golden Rules for Styling a Jacket/Coat with a Dress or Skirt:

1. Length is always a huge factor. The jacket/coat must be longer than the dress or hit at the hip (like both of my coats/jackets styled above). You don’t want a skirt or dress peeking out an inch or hand length below the jacket. Make sure your coat is longer than the dress for a more appealing- put together look.
2. Match the Style. For a more elegant, evening dress (especially if it’s beaded, has sequins or jewels or is bedazzled in any way (like the black Joseph Ribkoff Dress I’m wearing above) – go with a more formal jacket or coat. The leather jacket and denim jacket is too casual here. Go for the trench, a nice long coat, or something a bit different like this cute long cape black coat I’m wearing above). The elegant jacket or coat ties in the dress and gives it a great overall evening look without creating chaos in your outfit.
3. For a more casual dress or skirt, wear the casual faux leather jacket (like the one I’m wearing above with my Gorgeous Joseph Ribkoff red or denim jacket or other casual-style jacket. You can always substitute a more formal coat or jacket here too since the casual style tends to be more hidden underneath.
4. Wearing a super long formal ball gown or maxi dress? – Here you can get away with a coat in a longer length but keep it below the knee. A classic pea coat that ends at the hip is always a great choice for this look too. Just make sure to keep your coat formal here if you’re wearing that exquisite ball gown. A long maxi dress will look better with a more casual-style shorter jacket or coat.
5. You don’t always need to worry too much about color. Neutrals go with anything, yes that means you can even wear your brown double breasted evening coat with that LBD! When buying, pick a neutral coat that you tend to wear a lot of. I love black, white, beige, and camel as I don’t have many brown pieces in my wardrobe. If picking a bright colored coat – keep in mind that it may not always go with your outfit. This is a piece to hold off on buying until you can have already built your outerwear wardrobe with lots of different styles and neutrals. However, you can bend the rules more easily when it comes to outerwear and what “Goes” with your outfit, especially because often you can just button up the coat and throw on the scarf, and no one has any idea what you’re even wearing underneath!

 

Check out more from the gorgeous Spring 2017 Collection from Joseph Ribkoff at JosephRibkoff.com today!

 

Happy Shopping and Styling!

*I was given this product for the purpose of review. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed in this post are solely my own. I only share reviews with my readers, I feel will be beneficial or informative in some way.